1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus or digital camera capable of recording and replaying still image data, moving image data and sound or voice data, particularly to a digital camera capable of terminating a record of a mother file to which a plurality of child files are connected, changing a photographic mode, holding an associated information and continuing an associated recording, even though a power source of the apparatus is turned off.
2. Description of the Related Prior Art
A recent digital camera has been adapted to be capable of recording and replaying moving image data and voice data in addition to still image data. Here, if these data can further be recorded by associating mutually, the benefit of the data is increased.
For example, if the still image data and the voice image data can be administrated as one group, it is possible to attach voice comments of a photographer on the still image. In the association between the data, a method for combining each data as one file and for associating with a number of a file name, even an individual file, is already commercialized.
As the method for associating by the number of the file name, for example, if the file name of an image is Image0003.jpg, there is a method in which different extensions are used so as to become the same file name so that the voice file name is Sound0003.wav.
In other words, if there is a voice file having the same file name to the file name of an image file when replaying the image, an automatic replaying of the voice is configured to carry out.
The above example corresponds to an association between single data, but for example, a method for associating voice data and still image data by recording the voice data continuously and inserting therebetween the photographed still image has also been proposed, for instance, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication H 11-203783. In the proposal, when replaying, the still image can also be displayed in turn in response to the voice replaying.
In addition, there are listed Japanese Patent Laid-Open publication Nos. H9-238303, H11-136623, 2000-196983, 2001-69454, and 2002-189757, as the other prior art.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication H11-203783 also discloses an art for using a disc-shaped recording medium firstly, mounting a semi-conductor recording medium secondary, recording a voice information and an image information on the semi-conductor recording medium once, adding an administrated information of a recording time of the voice information to the voice information and recording it, adding a positional information in which a state of the voice at the time of recording the image information is recorded, to the image information and recording it, recording and administrating the voice and image information, arranging the voice and image information in order of recording when replaying and recording the arranged information on the semi-conductor recording medium, thereafter, replaying and displaying a first image information regardless of the positional information when the first image information is recorded simultaneously with the replaying of the voice information, and displaying the first image information until the other image information is replayed with a time schedule decided by the positional information.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication H9-238303 discloses an art including photographic means for photographing a subject and outputting the photographed image data, image data cording means for cording the photographed image data and voice inputting means for converting a voice into an electrical signal, voice data cording means for cording the voice data converted into the electrical signal, and registering means. In the registering means, when the corded image data are recorded in recording means as an image file and the corded voice data are recorded in the recording means as a voice file, they are registered with file names including associated information for associating the image and voice files.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication H11-136623 discloses a digital camera comprising a still image-recording mode with a voice for recording simultaneously still image data and voice data. The digital camera includes a CCD, an A/D converter and so on for photographing a subject and creating the image data, a microphone, a D/A converter and so on for converting a voice into an electrical signal to acquire voice data, a card memory for storing the image data as an image data file in a predetermined form and the voice data as a voice data file in a predetermined form, and a CPU for recording an associated information of the still image-recording mode with the voice on a portion of the image and voice data files, if the still image-recording mode with the voice is selected.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication 2000-196983 discloses an art comprising a photoelectric conversion element, an image data conversion part for converting a signal from the photoelectric conversion element into image data, a storing part for storing the image data from the image data conversion part and data of a file name (name of a file and serial number), an image reproduction part for reconstructing the image data from the storing part, a displaying part for displaying an image and so on reconstructed in the image reproduction part, a control part for controlling the photoelectric conversion element and the aforementioned parts, and inputting means (character key, conversion key and input key) for inputting the file name and for giving instructions regarding the data of the file name to the control part. The control part has a program memory storing a program having a less labor hour when inputting data relating to a new file name and a CPU for carrying out a control by the program.
Japanese patent Laid-Open Publication 2001-69454 discloses an art for acquiring a photographic information and converting the information into image data, for taking out a fixed file name pre-stored in a digital camera and searching a memory card, for converting an additional information written in the fixed file into image data, thereafter, for extracting a Y component of a photographic image, for digital water-marking a photographic information formed into the image data and combining it to the Y component, further for digital water-marking an additional information formed into image data and combining it to the Y component to substitute it for the Y component of the photographic image.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication 2002-189757 discloses a data searching device for data-searching object data to be searched and configured to include still image data and meta data with respect to a registered data base. In the data searching, the search for the searched object data is carried out based on a set searching condition and meta data included in each searching object data registered in the data base, and in a listed display of thumbnail of the searching object data prepared by execution of the searching, if there is registration of the searching object data having no existence, it is deleted, if the object data are not registered in the data base and if there are searching object data stored in a predetermined logic area, it is registered in the data base.
However, in the system for association in the prior art, a plurality of child files can be connected with one parent file, but if the recording of the parent file is terminated, the photographic mode is changed and a power source of the apparatus is turned off, because the file name of the parent file is deleted from a RAM, there is a problem that an associated information to data photographed next is missing and therefore the association information can be continued.